Mirandy went to the cabin door, stared a minute in surprise and then shook her head slowly. But Steve pushed past her saying:
“Yes, thar is, too. I’m Stephen Langly.”
“You! Sakes erlive, I clean forgot that was yo’ name!” and his sister laughed lazily, while the stranger joined in.
“Wal, you’re a powerful little chap to be a-gittin’ mail. But this here thing has yo’ name on it, they tole me at the store, an’ so I brung it along as I was a-comin’ this-a-way. Hit’s been thar mo’ than three months they tole me.”
Steve took the package, his hands trembling with eagerness and would have darted away to the woods with his treasure where he might look upon it first alone, but Mirandy stormed when he turned to go, and the man said:
“’Pears to me you mought show what ye got, when I brung it all this long ways to ye.”
That did seem the fair thing to do, so when they had asked the man to “light and hitch,” Steve sat down on the door-step and removed the wrappings from the square box; there was tissue paper first, a miracle of daintiness which the boy had never beheld before, and at last the watch came to view. Steve lifted it in trembling fingers, and while Mirandy and the man expressed their admiration his first quivering words were:
“That other one was yaller.”
“Wal, now,” said Mirandy, “that one was gold; you couldn’t expect that man to send you no gold.”